Premier League club Arsenal valued at $3.1 billion after acquisition

Majority shareholder of Premier League club Arsenal, Alisher Usmanov, is set to relinquish full ownership to American businessman Stan Kroenke. 

Kroenke was looking to sell his minority share of 30.4% last month after growing tired of ongoing efforts to broker a takeover deal with Russian billionaire Usmanov who currently owns a 67.05% stake in the club.

Usmanov has accepted an offer of $1.04 billion, which now values the English club at a tidy $3.1 billion.

The deal sees US-based Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) purchase the stake held by Usmanov’s Red and White Securities firm.

The company, in a statement published via the London Stock Exchange, said the successful implementation of the offer would bring benefits of a single owner ‘better able to move quickly in furtherance of the club’s strategy and ambitions’.

The statement added that under the offer, Arsenal shareholders will be entitled to receive British $50,000 for each share.

“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 per cent ownership of the club.

“We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents,” Kroenke said.

Kroenke also owns various sports teams in the USA, including the National Football League’s (NFL) Los Angeles Rams; the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Denver Nuggets; Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Colorado Rapids and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Colorado Avalanche.

Stan’s son, Josh Kroenke, has been taking an increasingly hands-on role at Arsenal in recent months and that is now expected to continue.